Probe involvement of 2 radical Meitei groups in Manipur pogrom: tribal student bodies 

Five organisations of tribal students of Manipur in New Delhi have demanded a probe into the alleged involvement of two radical Meitei groups in the “pre-planned” communal violence on May 3. 

GUWAHATI: Five organisations of tribal students of Manipur in New Delhi have demanded a probe into the alleged involvement of two radical Meitei groups in the “pre-planned” communal violence in the northeastern State unleashed on May 3. 

The arson and violence killed more than 70 people, destroyed about 1,700 houses, and displaced 35,000 people. 

Meiteis | Clash of clans in Manipur

“The pogrom unleashed by the suspected Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun upon the tribal people of Manipur is a gross violation of human rights, most uncivilised and highly condemnable and punishable in the national and international courts of law,” a statement issued by the five organisations on May 18 said. 

The organisations are Zomi Students’ Federation Delhi, Zou Sangnaupang Pawlpi Delhi, Hmar Students’ Association Delhi, Kuki Students’ Organisation Delhi, and Gangte Students’ Organisation Delhi. 

“Many eyewitnesses and victims narrated that the violent attackers wore black T-shirts similar to those worn by the members of Arambai Tenggol. It has also been reported that houses belonging to the tribal people in (State capital) Imphal had been marked with a strange red spray painted well before the violent attacks started on the night of May 3,” the organisations said. 

“This incident clearly suggests that the violent attacks on tribal people were pre-planned,” the organisations added, demanding the immediate arrest of perpetrators and instigators of the violence and their punishment according to the law.